How to create a more diverse and inclusive tech team

According to McKinsey’s recent Delivering Through Diversity report, companies with the most ethnically and culturally diverse boards worldwide are 43% more likely to experience higher profits – an important reflection amid COVID-19.

What’s more, employers that don’t have a diversity, equality and inclusion (DE&I) strategy could be missing out on quality talent. Hays’ Diversity and Inclusion Report 2020 reveals that 61% of employees would consider only applying to a company with a public commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Despite a call for more DE&I practices in the tech industry, a recent Tech Monitor report reveals that half of UK tech workers have not seen diversity and inclusion improvement in their organisation since May 2020.

Let’s take a closer look at how companies can create more diverse and inclusive tech teams:

Remove gender bias from the recruitment process

Developing diverse tech teams begins at the recruitment stage. When writing job adverts, recruiters should be aware of using gender neutral language to encourage a balance of applications from all genders.

The Gender Bias Decoder, created by our sister brand Totaljobs, helps recruiters identify gendered words in job descriptions and emails, so they can deliver more inclusive messaging to candidates. One tech company that proactively removes bias in their hiring strategy is Deloitte. In order to tackle social mobility issues, hiring managers at the company are unable to see the schools that applicants attended – a practice called ‘university-blind interviewing’.

Likewise, adopting skills-based assessments focuses on a candidate’s skills rather than their qualifications and experience. Traditional hiring processes often overlook a candidate’s talent by focusing too heavily on their background and how they perform in face-to-face interviews.

Provide flexible working opportunities

According to a recent survey shared by Yahoo Finance, 57% of employees said they did not want to go back to ‘the normal way of working’ in an office environment with normal office hours. Companies that embrace remote and hybrid working opportunities can attract skilled workers from remote locations, as well as carers and people with disabilities.

CWJobs’ own research finds that women (71%) are more likely than men (65%) not to accept a job that doesn’t offer flexibility. Recruiters should therefore highlight their flexibility in job adverts to demonstrate their commitment to inclusion and work-life balance.

Similarly, by actively promoting the UK government’s Shared Paternal Leave, parents can share childcare responsibilities, which can have a positive influence on the career decisions they make.

Hire for cultural add

Hiring for cultural add ensures that tech teams have shared values with the company. Psychometric tests that asses emotional intelligence can help hiring managers gain a deeper insight into a candidate’s values and motivations.

Hiring based on emotional IQ and performance data provides a fairer and more accurate overview of a candidate’s suitability.

One technology that can help hiring managers achieve their diversity and inclusion goals is Good&Co. This workplace culture platform uses advanced psychometrics and big data to help recruiters make better, data-driven hiring decisions.

What the tech industry is doing to promote diversity and inclusion

At CWJobs, we’re partnered with various organisations that promote diversity, equality and inclusion within the tech sector.

Tech Talent Charter, for example, aims to deliver greater gender diversity in the tech workforce publishes an Annual Benchmarking Report that provides diversity and inclusion data.

TechUK is UK’s leading technology membership organisation and aims to develop new relationships and advocate for the good of tech workers, companies and the industry as a whole. Its Delivering Diversity initiative monitors how members are committing to ethnic diversity in the tech workforce and how they’re pushing for progress.

UKBlackTech is an organisation that aims to make the UK the most ethnically diverse tech ecosystem in the world. It advocates for equality, transparency and representation at the decision-making level in the sector.

How employers can put their DE&I strategy into practice

The first step to implementing diversity, equality and inclusion practices is to ensure that the company is held accountable. In many cases, appointing a diversity manager to review hiring decisions and monitor data is a good starting point. Likewise, sending employee surveys where staff can provide honest feedback anonymously can provide an overview of a company’s current DE&I performance.

One tech company that benefits from having a D&I Director is Gitlab. By setting diversity goals, providing bias training and offering bonuses for referring candidates from underrepresented backgrounds, the company proactively drives diversity within its teams.

Ensuring inclusivity is reflected in a company’s values is also an important step to implementing a DE&I strategy. In understanding what inclusive practices look like, they can be integrated into a company’s values and enforced by rewarding positive behaviours with the organisation.

Mentoring programmes can also ensure that a company acts upon its diversity goals. By connecting those from underrepresented backgrounds with mentors within the organisation, companies can futureproof their talent pipeline. Tech company Cisco, for example, has an Inclusion and Collaboration Community that provides sponsorship opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds to advance their skills in the company.

CWJobs’ Equality Boost

Equality Boost is a tool that can increase applications from underrepresented groups through targeted display advertising. Harnessing a unique blend of data science, Equality Boost pinpoints when, where and how to reach the talent companies need by demographic, location and interest information.

It can help companies identify their unique challenges and set clear objectives to meet their tech hiring needs. The tool monitors campaign performance with real-time data and insights, and measures its success to improve campaigns over time.

The Equality Boost Badge is be displayed on job listings on the CWJobs platform to demonstrate that a company is invested in searching for diverse candidates.